太阳城网赌平台 will introduce a major in neuroscience within the Department of 心理学 next fall, enabling undergraduates to obtain a research-focused degree in a field whose interdisciplinary nature and application has made it increasingly popular among college students.
BC administrators and faculty say establishing the neuroscience bachelor of science major addresses a longstanding student demand for the program, 充分利用部门优势, 并使大学与许多同行机构并驾齐驱. 神经科学, 他们补充说, 为耶稣会士提供了引人注目的主题, Catholic university with a liberal arts-based curriculum that champions interdisciplinary 工作 and a concern for the human condition.
Gianinno Family Sesquicentennial Assistant Professor of 心理学 约翰·克里斯蒂安森 led the committee that designed the major. (吉尔伯特)
通过专业, students will gain a better understanding of the biological basis of brain function in relation to thought and behavior. The program has co-requisites in biology and chemistry as well as elective natural science co-requisites, 并强调亲身体验, 实验室科学. 学生将选修与进化论有关的课程, 遗传学, 生理学, 神经生物学, 以及人类高级认知和情感过程的神经基础.
而该方案具有科学取向, administrators and faculty point out that neuroscience holds relevance for fields such as nursing, 社会工作, 数学, 经济学, 哲学, 甚至历史.
“How the mind 工作s is of fundamental interest in so many contexts—like the way we make decisions in regard to money, 工作, 家庭, 或爱,” says Gianinno Family Sesquicentennial Assistant Professor of 心理学 约翰·克里斯蒂安森, 谁领导设计这个专业的委员会. “神经科学是了解大脑化学的一种手段, 在生物学和行为之间建立联系. 这仍然是一个非常新的领域, 大概50岁, 所以我们才刚刚开始破解密码.”
伊丽莎白·肯辛格教授, 系主任, says the major “will enable students to become critical thinkers as they reflect on topics that are at the core of the human experience: How do we learn through our experiences? 脑细胞是如何产生思想和行为的? How does context influence everything from what we see to how we behave toward others? Which aspects of behavior are easily controlled and which proceed without conscious awareness?”
她补充说, “学生 will learn how recording from neurons can shed light on the processes that go awry when people respond with fear despite multiple cues of safety. 他们将学习如何早期的生活经验, 以及这些经历对大脑发育的影响, 会对决策和行为产生持久的影响吗. They will learn about the processes that allow a neural trace of a past event to persist as a memory, 当记忆错误或不完整时，他们会考虑其中的含义.”
“How the mind 工作s is of fundamental interest in so many contexts—like the way we make decisions in regard to money, 工作, 家庭, 或爱. 神经科学是了解大脑化学的一种手段, 在生物学和行为之间建立联系. ”
莫里西艺术与科学学院院长格雷戈里·卡尔舍尔，S.J.她对这位神经科学专业学生的加入表示欢迎. “It is a great fit with our mission focus on integration and interdisciplinary teaching and research. 学生 majoring in neuroscience will develop a sense for important connections among a range of disciplines, 这对我们的耶稣会有帮助吗, 天主教的使命是发展一种完整的知识. The new major also connects with our desire to promote integrated scientific study in service of health as a dimension of the common good.”
神经科学 is one of the fastest-growing disciplines in academia during the past few decades: Studies show the number of undergraduate neuroscience programs in the U.S. 仅从1996年到2006年就增加了两倍, while the number of core journals in neuroscience rose from 11 to 22 during 2006-2015. BC大学心理学系, which had included a neuroscience program as part of its strategic plan several years ago, found that psych majors and students enrolled in psychology courses overwhelmingly agreed that a neuroscience degree was important to their career goals, 如果有机会，他们会把现在的专业换成神经科学.
同样让我们感兴趣的是，在美国排名前40的大学中 U.S. 新闻 & 世界报道 rankings of major research universities—including BC—at least 18 had a neuroscience program. 此外, a review of neuroscience programs at 15 peer institutions found that 13 offered an undergraduate major, 剩下的两个是次要的.
心理学讲座教授伊丽莎白·肯辛格(彼得·朱利安)
肯辛格说，国防部也审视了自己的能力. “One of the long-standing strengths of the 心理学系 has been its commitment to the integration of neuroscience and psychological science approaches toward understanding human behavior. Among the most notable features of our department is its blend of behavioral neuroscience, 认知神经科学, and psychological science approaches to addressing questions at the core of the human experience.
“因此，我们很高兴能够为学生提供神经科学专业, one that emphasizes the interdisciplinary synergy that is required to understand the complexities of human thought and behavior.”
BC’s 耶稣会,天主教 character and commitment to the liberal arts provide another distinctive quality to its neuroscience program, 克里斯蒂安森和肯辛格说. 克里斯蒂安森提到了他的同事所做的太阳城官网, 包括Liane Young副教授和她的道德实验室, in which she studies the cognitive underpinnings of moral judgments; Associate Professor Gorica Petrovich, who researches how environmental cues affect food intake; and Kensinger herself, 太阳城官网情感内容对记忆影响的专家, 以及这些影响在人的一生中是如何变化的.
“An exploration of neuroscience requires students to reflect deeply on the human condition, 从多个角度和层次,肯辛格说。. “The inherent interdisciplinary nature of neuroscience also requires students to see the interconnections across fields of study: to appreciate, 例如, 当一个人在思考童年事件时进行核磁共振成像是为了观察生物学, 物理, 和计算机科学一起来理解人类的记忆体验.
“无论是在法庭上还是在教室里, neuroscience already has led to new ways of thinking about the nature of human behavior. 神经科学 holds great promise for deepening the understanding both of mental health and the interconnections between mental and physical health. And advances in neuroscience also have been deeply synergistic with advances in technology.”
——肖恩·史密斯|大学传播